Star of Windsor, best stayer in fray
By Sharan Kumar

Bangalore
Mar 04, 2006

With stable’s first jockey opting to ride Forever Elegance, the Gr 1 Stayers Cup, to be held on Saturday, is sure to throw punters into a state of confusion. The best stayer in the fray undoubtedly is Star of Windsor who won the last year’s edition at Chennai and hasn’t done anything wrong, having reeled off two wins in a row as against the victory recorded by Forever Elegance over a mile. More often than not, the horse chosen by Prakash is the preferred one and rarely has the jockey faced competition from his own stablemates.

Star of Windsor won the last year’s Stayers Cup in record timing. The son of Steinbeck has bounced back to form, hammering the opposition at Mumbai over a mile and half trip in splendid fashion. Back to Bangalore after his sojourn at Mumbai, Star of Windsor beat stablemate Forever Elegance over an identical trip quite competently. Forever Elegance was full of running and jockey Chisty appeared to be restraining the filly from giving off her best. Had Forever Elegance been allowed to run to potential on the last occasion, it is quite possible she may have had last laugh. It is this run which perhaps has made Prakash switch his ride and go in for Forever Elegance.

Star Of Windsor

Forever Elegance

Forever Elegance, last winter’s heroine, having won the Derby besides a host of other races, has been in good nick as evidenced by the decisive manner in which she won a mile long race on the Derby day. She has the breeding to stay the grueling trip and she is also blessed with a tremendous turn of foot. As such, she is a live threat to her stablemate Star of Windsor, notwithstanding what the perception of jockey Prakash is. More often than not, when confronted with a choice, Prakash has made mistakes and he may be proved wrong once again. Trainer Ganapathy feels that in his reckoning, Star of Windsor holds the edge.

While trainer Ganapathy has the luxury of having two best horses in the fray, the other horse who runs with a great chance is Kolkata challenger Aperitivo. The son of Diffident has been a gallant performer but has been unfortunate to find one better in the form of Southern Regent on a few occasions. Though he is by Diffident, the stamina influence comes from his dam side. The five-year old gelding, trained by Vijay Singh, has been in good nick and he recorded a hat-trick of wins back in Kolkata this season.

Padmanabhan trained King of Hearts and Randsberg are both capable horses but may find the fancied duo too hot to handle. However, they can only be considered by those looking for flukes. Adolfito is not in the best of form while Assessed is showing some semblance of returning to form. Perfect Mover, despite being on the upgrade, may be lacking in class to make a mark in this company.